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Infante providing boost to bottom of lineup

4/10/13: Omar Infante connects on a single to left and Matt Tuiasosopo heads home to push the Tigers to a 2-0 lead in the second

By Jason Beck
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MLB.com |

DETROIT -- The Tigers have had no shortage of hitting at the top of their order since the season started. The guy at the bottom of the order, meanwhile, is quietly swinging away to a hot start.

It does not go overlooked by manager Jim Leyland, who has been seeking production out of the bottom of his lineup for a few years. For that, Omar Infante has been a blessing.

The Tigers ranked 11th out of 14 American League teams last year with a .603 OPS from their ninth hitters. They were seventh in batting average (.231) and on-base percentage (.308). In 2011, their .637 OPS from the ninth spot ranked ninth. They haven't ranked in the top six of the league in OPS from the bottom of the lineup since 2008, when Brandon Inge led a cavalcade of hitters at the bottom of Detroit's order with a collective .670 OPS.

With Infante, the Tigers have a ninth hitter who hasn't posted an OPS lower than .696 since 2007, the last year of his previous stint in Detroit. With Infante, the Tigers have a potential catalyst at the bottom of the order.

Infante entered Thursday's series finale against Toronto 10-for-26 this season -- all of his hits were singles. He has hit safely in every game he's played this season, including two hits on Wednesday, and continued that streak with a perfect bunt single on Thursday.

So far, he only has three runs and four RBIs -- his fourth coming on a sacrifice fly on Thursday. If Infante can keep hitting at a decent rate, even with a slight drop-off, he'll be providing RBI opportunities for Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter as the lineup flips over.

The way Infante hits, Leyland said, he's a natural fit for the bottom of the Tigers' lineup the way the rest of their order lines up.

"Sometimes [pitchers] get through the big guys and take a little sigh of relief, and guys like Omar, they can nail those guys sometimes," Leyland said. "He does that pretty good."

Infante's versatility was on full display in Thursday's 11-1 win. With runners on the corners in the second inning, his sacrifice fly to left not only scored Jhonny Peralta, but allowed Alex Avila to move up to second ahead of Austin Jackson's ensuing bloop single.

With runners on first and second in the fifth inning and a 6-1 Tigers lead, Leyland called on Infante to bunt. His slow roller teased the first-base line for about 45 feet, but never rolled foul, loading the bases and fueling a four-run rally to put the game out of reach.

"I was trying to add on runs," Leyland said. "I thought it was really important with that offense."

Infante's eight straight games with a hit to open the season match Carlos Guillen's streak from 2011. A hit Friday in Oakland would match Brandon Inge's nine-game streak from 2010, currently the longest season-opening hitting streak by a Tiger since 1990.

"Omar Infante's quietly a really good player," Leyland said. "And he can a big hit for you. He's got four RBIs in nine games and they've been big RBIs."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.